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SENSIBLE VIEWS ON BETTING. In BOSae eases our Canadian fill ill are apt to take I saner and broader view of things than we do here in America. Hone racing is a case in point. Across the Canadian border the sport flourishes and there is l|olle ol the hyMcrla ill collllei tioti with its con j ii vt that lias given the American turf a temporary *eti,ark. The following editorial from a recent edition f the Toronto. Out.. News, affords a typical Canadian view of the subject: •It is manifest that Canadians are a sport-loving pi ..pie. They have no monopoly of the virtues, but iit least they are niodst winners and good losers. They are. moreover, a cheerful and happy people. They Sad the earth that God made is good, and take the fruits thereof neither too soberly nor too eagerly. The Woodbine has its as.sailants. No one denies the evil of Letting. But human nature cannot he perfected by legislation. This at least is true, that racing at the Woodbine is not conducted to serve the interests of the betting ring, hut to provide sport under roadltioas which are above suspicion, and to prove and Improve the quality of Canadian horses. ••The Woodbine has become a national institution. It has an honorable history. It lias had the support of many names which rank high on tbe roll of Canadian citizenship. The man who loves horses is likely to love his own kind, and to be distinguiscd for nol.Ie qualities. It is men of this type who have maintained racing at the Woodbine, and made its name id good repute all over the continent. ••Racing is essentially a Hritisb sport. It flour-lahea in Australia as nowhere else in the world. It Mill is the .sport of kings in Great Britain. All ov.r the empire the pulses of British citizens beat faster with tlie word that Use king"s horse had won the Derby. Moreover, in British countries fraud on the turf is visited with heavy penalties, and in a sense the law of the nice track serves to maintain the code of public honor. There, as here, racing has its unwelcome accessories, hut at its liest it has a character and a discipline which have no mean value. "Legislation can go only so far in regulating the social habits of a people. All history proves that excessive restrictions breed revolt and reaction. And the last condition is worse than the first. A large freedom and a large toleration, where then is no deliberate moral offense, are the essential characteristics of British civilization. "It ana hi be hard to find a reason whv racing should be prohibited. It is doubtful if such a pro lKisal could receive the sanction of any British legislature. There is no doubt, however, that while there is racing there will be bet Hug. Is It so certain. then, that letting secret, furtive and outlawed i-lietter than betting on race tracks under legal recognition and severe legal restrictions?"
